LilMtnCbn
07-01-2004, 07:00 AM
http://www.theindependent.com/stories/070104/new_sisters01.shtml
Search ends in happiness, tears of joy
Area woman finds her sister in California after many years
By Gretchen Fowler
gretchen.fowler@theindependent.com
PHILLIPS -- They make the same little noises with their mouths.
They both like animals and the outdoors, and neither of them likes wearing
shoes.
Those are a few of the things sisters Cindy (Packard) Boerson, 52, and Sonya
(Packard) Harris, 50, learned about each other after meeting for the first time
on Tuesday.
Sitting in the living room of Boerson's farmhouse east of Phillips on Wednesday
afternoon, the sisters hugged, the sisters cried, and like most siblings, the
sisters disagreed.
"No, we don't."
"Yes, we do."
They went back and forth, trying to figure out whether they have the same
biological father. They know they have the same biological mother, and now they
know they have each other.
"There are so many empty spaces that need to be filled in, but the biggest
empty space has been filled," Harris' daughter, Heidi Cooper, said as her
mother and aunt talked.
Neither woman knew the other existed as they were growing up. Harris was
adopted at birth by her uncle because he and his wife were unable to have
children of their own. The family didn't want her to know she was adopted and,
therefore, kept the girls apart and a secret from each other.
Harris grew up in California, where she still lives, while Boerson grew up in
Grand Island. Boerson learned about Harris in 1979 from her aunt. Harris
learned about Boerson in 1985, from her adoptive father.
Boerson said she decided right away to look for her sister but didn't know how.
She was first told that her missing sibling was a brother and later learned it
was a sister instead.
After many false leads and contacting Sonyas who weren't the one she was
looking for, Boerson found the sister she had never met. A Web site sent her a
list of names and phone numbers to try, and on Father's Day of this year, a
phone call allowed the women to speak for the first time.
"I feel whole now," Boerson said as she clung to her sister. "I don't know how
you explain it."
Boerson picked her sister and niece up from the Omaha airport on Tuesday
afternoon. Harris was told to look for a woman carrying red, white and blue
balloons, and Boerson was told to look for a woman in a red shirt, who would be
carrying a stuffed bear.
"I saw her just chuck those balloons, and away she came," Harris said, telling
of the moment Boerson realized who she was.
Cooper said the women were running toward each other as she followed, carrying
a camera and trying to take pictures through tear-filled eyes.
"It's cool to put faces with names of people you knew were there but never knew
who they were," Cooper said.
Already on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the two sisters met, Boerson had
pictures of Harris and Harris' grandchildren hanging on a bulletin board in the
living room.
The sisters have yet to decide whether they'll seek two more siblings -- a set
of twins they've never met. They agreed on Wednesday that, for a while, they'll
simply focus on each other.
"I looked for her to make sure she was happy," Boerson said as she gave her
sister a kiss on the cheek.
Returning the gesture of affection, Harris said with tears in her eyes, "I'm
happier now."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Search ends in happiness, tears of joy
Area woman finds her sister in California after many years
By Gretchen Fowler
gretchen.fowler@theindependent.com
PHILLIPS -- They make the same little noises with their mouths.
They both like animals and the outdoors, and neither of them likes wearing
shoes.
Those are a few of the things sisters Cindy (Packard) Boerson, 52, and Sonya
(Packard) Harris, 50, learned about each other after meeting for the first time
on Tuesday.
Sitting in the living room of Boerson's farmhouse east of Phillips on Wednesday
afternoon, the sisters hugged, the sisters cried, and like most siblings, the
sisters disagreed.
"No, we don't."
"Yes, we do."
They went back and forth, trying to figure out whether they have the same
biological father. They know they have the same biological mother, and now they
know they have each other.
"There are so many empty spaces that need to be filled in, but the biggest
empty space has been filled," Harris' daughter, Heidi Cooper, said as her
mother and aunt talked.
Neither woman knew the other existed as they were growing up. Harris was
adopted at birth by her uncle because he and his wife were unable to have
children of their own. The family didn't want her to know she was adopted and,
therefore, kept the girls apart and a secret from each other.
Harris grew up in California, where she still lives, while Boerson grew up in
Grand Island. Boerson learned about Harris in 1979 from her aunt. Harris
learned about Boerson in 1985, from her adoptive father.
Boerson said she decided right away to look for her sister but didn't know how.
She was first told that her missing sibling was a brother and later learned it
was a sister instead.
After many false leads and contacting Sonyas who weren't the one she was
looking for, Boerson found the sister she had never met. A Web site sent her a
list of names and phone numbers to try, and on Father's Day of this year, a
phone call allowed the women to speak for the first time.
"I feel whole now," Boerson said as she clung to her sister. "I don't know how
you explain it."
Boerson picked her sister and niece up from the Omaha airport on Tuesday
afternoon. Harris was told to look for a woman carrying red, white and blue
balloons, and Boerson was told to look for a woman in a red shirt, who would be
carrying a stuffed bear.
"I saw her just chuck those balloons, and away she came," Harris said, telling
of the moment Boerson realized who she was.
Cooper said the women were running toward each other as she followed, carrying
a camera and trying to take pictures through tear-filled eyes.
"It's cool to put faces with names of people you knew were there but never knew
who they were," Cooper said.
Already on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the two sisters met, Boerson had
pictures of Harris and Harris' grandchildren hanging on a bulletin board in the
living room.
The sisters have yet to decide whether they'll seek two more siblings -- a set
of twins they've never met. They agreed on Wednesday that, for a while, they'll
simply focus on each other.
"I looked for her to make sure she was happy," Boerson said as she gave her
sister a kiss on the cheek.
Returning the gesture of affection, Harris said with tears in her eyes, "I'm
happier now."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
